As Wild equipment men packed large green bags for a trip back to the Twin Cities on Sunday, Mikael Granlund and Mikko Koivu squeezed in a postgame workout in the hallway and Matt Moulson gave Charlie Coyle a congratulatory pat on the pack.

Zach Parise, however, stood alone next to a pile of pizza boxes, grabbing an extra slice and a long, deep breath. The Wild had just beaten the Red Wings in Detroit -- 4-3 in overtime -- and Parise was enjoying a rare break from uncomfortable questions.

"We didn't want to walk out of here losing another one-goal game, or losing another game in overtime," the Wild's alternate captain said.

Despite retaining the playoff cushion with which the Wild started the post-Olympics stretch run, they entered the game having lost seven of nine games, six of those losses by one goal. And though the Wild still were earning points -- three in shootouts, one in overtime -- the word "collapse" had started getting attached to the season.

"That's the way it's been going for us, so it's nice to wind up on the other side," Parise said. "It felt good. Now we've got another day off and we can at least feel good about the things we did."

Though the Wild don't play until Wednesday against Vancouver at the Xcel Energy Center, eighth-place Phoenix and ninth-place Dallas play both Monday and Tuesday.

A Wild loss Sunday would have given the Coyotes a chance to catch them within 48 hours of Sunday night. Instead, the Wild will enter Wednesday in sole possession of seventh place regardless of what happens in the Coyotes' back-to-back games against the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins.

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On the heels of coach Mike Yeo's postgame proclamation Saturday that this Wild team was different from the squads that folded late -- the 2011-12 team missed the playoffs; last year's team needed to win its last game to secure the final playoff spot -- the Wild needed real evidence.

"I wasn't trying to create a big thing," Yeo said. "I just think we feel differently. We feel confident. We came into this building (in Detroit) confident. What's important is we can't get feeling too good about this game, either.

Minnesota Wild center Charlie Coyle (3) scores on a penalty shot against Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard (35) during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, March 22, 2014, in St. Paul, Minn. Detroit won 3-2. (AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

We've got another challenge coming up this week as far as back-to-back games and a couple opponents that are going to be ready to go."

Finally, the Wild seem to have found two lines that can score consistently.

Parise and linemates Granlund and Jason Pominville have been rolling for weeks. But since Coyle was added to Moulson and center Koivu, the second has become a consistent threat with three goals in four full periods together.

Much of it has started with Koivu, the Wild's captain.

"I thought Mikko was a horse (Sunday), all over the ice," Yeo said.

The win didn't come because of a good break or two; the Wild outplayed the Red Wings throughout. Detroit's 16-shot output marked just the second time since 1991 that the Wings have been held to that number or fewer.

"It was probably one of the better ones we've played," Parise said. "It wasn't a perfect game by any means. But I think we did a lot of good things after playing a lot of hockey in the last little while."